Email Communication with Customers: Do’s & Don’ts

Email communication with customers is appropriate in these three — and only these three — situations.

When we provide customer service training, one of the first topics we address is communicating with customers through email. Specifically, we share one of Tim Sanders‘ fundamental rules governing the appropriateness of email communication.

But before we reveal Tim’s email rule, we want to review communication in general. When we communicate with another person, we “transmit” on three “channels”:

• words;

• body language, including facial expressions; and

• tone.

If one or more of these “channels” isn’t available to, or received by, the intended recipient, our communication becomes diluted.

Imagine watching a television sporting event and losing the audio component. Although we still visually perceive the sports game, the lack of audio communication diminishes our ability to fully understand the event. When this happens, we rely on our personal attitudes, beliefs, and experiences to “fill in” the missing information. For example, we attempt to imagine what the announcers are saying, what the coaches are yelling, and how the crowd is reacting. When the audio returns, we are often surprised to discover that our “version” of the missing information we “filled in” is not completely accurate. Why? Because our attempt to “fill in” the missing information is influenced by our personal attitudes, beliefs, and experiences.

The same concept applies when communicating with customers. If, for whatever reason, customers do not receive one or more of our communication “channels” — whether words, body language, or tone — they will attempt to “fill in” the missing information by drawing upon their own personal attitudes, beliefs, and experiences. Consequently, customers might, and often do, make inaccurate assumptions about what, or how, we are attempting to communicate.

When we communicate with customers through email, we restrict ourselves to a single “channel”: words. That is, email lacks two important “channels” of communication: tone and body language. And because tone and body language play an important role conveying intent, customers will make assumptions about our intent by relying on their own personal attitudes, beliefs, and experiences. The inevitable result is that email communication creates a genuine risk that customers might misinterpret our intent — in addition to the entire communication itself — which often creates a frustrating experience, both for our business and our customers.

And that’s the brilliance of Tim’s email rule. Tim proposes, and we agree, that email communication is appropriate in only three situations:

• to say “yes”;

• to say “maybe”; or

• to communicate harmless, non-emotionally charged information.

Why should email communication be limited to these three situations? Because the risk of the customer misinterpreting our communication — and, in particular, our intent — is relatively low when we convey positive or neutral information through email. Contrast that with telling a customer “no” or providing a customer with “bad news.” In those situations, the risk of the customer misinterpreting our intent is high, which means that email communication with the customer is not advised when telling a customer “no” or delivering “bad news.”

The “bottom line” is this: If it is necessary to tell a customer “no” or to deliver “bad news,” communicate with the customer through the telephone, not email. Unlike email communication, which is restricted to only a single “channel” of communication (words), telephone communication provides us with an additional “channel”: tone, which is critically important in transmitting our intent to a customer. As Tim astutely observes, “The telephone is the next best thing to being there.”

This week, take a moment to watch and share Tim’s short video that addresses email communication. Also, invest some time reviewing your process governing email communication with customers. Remember, your goal as a business is to provide an enjoyable and positive customer service experience that minimizes the risk of customers misinterpreting your communication. Tim’s email rule will help your business achieve that goal.

As always, have a “customerific” week!

Mark